Muslims mark end of Ramadan with prayers

Millions of Muslims in Africa on Wednesday joined their colleagues around the world in prayers to mark the end of their month-long Ramadan fast.

In the midst of the celebrations though, one issue weighed on the minds of many faithful – the triple bomb attacks that rocked Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

Three suicide bombers had detonated their devices at separate locations in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

One of the bombers targeted a Shia mosque in Qatif whiles the other detonated his device near the US consulate in Jeddah.

The third bomber, said to be a young man detonated his device near the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, one of the holiest places in Islam.

The attacks have been condemned by many faithful as they commemorated the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Shamy Noshy El-Shamy, an Imam who led scores of Muslim faithful in prayers in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, said the attack was carried out by people who lacked “real knowledge about Islam”.

“Real Islam is not all these bombings, all these fightings. Islam is a religion of peace. Islam means peace” he said.

A worshiper Issa also decried the killings. He told the AFP news agency: “A good Muslim doesn’t attack each other, he doesn’t kill somebody. Muslims don’t take life unnecessarily.”

This year’s Ramadan has been marred by pockets of attacks in the US, Turkey, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia carried out by jihadists based on a call by the Islamic State to its followers to attack the US and Europe during the holy month.